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WHO|Intermittentpreventivetreatmentinpregnancy(IPTp)

Malaria
Intermittentpreventivetreatmentin
pregnancy(IPTp)
Malariainfectionduringpregnancyisamajorpublichealthproblem,with
substantialrisksforthemother,herfetusandtheneonate.Intermittent
preventivetreatmentofmalariainpregnancyisafulltherapeuticcourse
ofantimalarialmedicinegiventopregnantwomenatroutineprenatal
visits,regardlessofwhethertherecipientisinfectedwithmalaria.IPTp
reducesmaternalmalariaepisodes,maternalandfetalanaemia,
placentalparasitaemia,lowbirthweight,andneonatalmortality.
Readmoreonmalariainpregnantwomen

WHOrecommendations
WHOrecommendsIPTpwithsulfadoxinepyrimethamine(IPTpSP)in
allareaswithmoderatetohighmalariatransmissioninAfrica.Asof
October2012,WHOrecommendsthatthispreventivetreatmentbe
giventoallpregnantwomenateachscheduledantenatalcarevisit
exceptduringthefirsttrimester.WHOrecommendsascheduleoffour
antenatalcarevisits.
Basedoncurrentlyavailableevidence,thepreventiveefficacyofSPfor
IPTppersistseveninareaswherequintuplemutationslinkedtoSP
resistanceareprevalentinP.falciparum.

LowuptakeofIPTpinsomeAfricancountries
Amongtheapproximately840millionpersonsatriskofmalariain
endemiccountriesinsubSaharanAfrica,anestimated35million
pregnantwomencouldbenefitfromIPTpeachyear.However,duringthe
lastfewyears,WHOhasobservedadecliningefforttoscaleupIPTpin
anumberofAfricancountries.Inhighburdencountries,IPTpnoticeably
lagsbehindothermalariacontrolmeasures.
Thisdoesnotappeartobeduetolowlevelsofantenatalclinic
attendance.UncertaintyamonghealthworkersaboutSPadministration
forIPTpmayhavealsoplayedarole.SimplifiedIPTpmessagesand
healthworkertraininghavebeenshowntoimproveIPTpcoverage.
Lastupdate:20February2015

Keydocuments
WHOpolicybrieffortheimplementationofintermittentpreventive
http://www.who.int/malaria/areas/preventive_therapies/pregnancy/en/

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WHO|Intermittentpreventivetreatmentinpregnancy(IPTp)

treatmentofmalariainpregnancyusingsulfadoxinepyrimethamine
(IPTpSP)
UpdatedWHOpolicyrecommendationonintermittentpreventive
treatmentofmalariainpregnancyusingsulfadoxinepyrimethamine
(IPTpSP)
WHOEvidenceReviewGroup:intermittentpreventivetreatmentof
malariainpregnancy(IPTp)withsulfadoxinepyrimethamine(SP)
pdf,342kb
Completelistofrelateddocuments

Relatedlinks
Malariainpregnantwomen
Intermittentpreventivetreatment
ininfants(IPTi)
Seasonalmalaria
chemoprevention(SMC)

Readmoreonpreventive
therapies

http://www.who.int/malaria/areas/preventive_therapies/pregnancy/en/

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